A millennial generation reader shares her view

In response to Mary's Armstrong's questions and comments about youth today not respecting their elders:

I would like to say first that I am a proud member of the millennial generation, and until my precious grandmother died two years ago, she was one of the best friends I'd ever had. We traveled together, laughed together, fought together and respected each other like few people do. It took me a long time to even come to terms with her passing, and I'll miss her for a long time.

That said, I believe that inter-generational relationships have always been marred by differences. I'm willing to bet that while you believed you honored your grandparents' generation as young children, they may not have thought so! As time goes by, things change. Morals and values change.

Your generation will naturally hold onto the things that were considered ''rebellious'' in your own youth. Nowadays, many of those things are seen as traditionalist values, and many youth today don't grasp the idea that elders were young once. As a youth myself, I fully agree and understand that.

Also, I believe respect is a two-way street. While most older people I've met are very kind and respectful of my generation's culture, many more are willing to dismiss us as spoiled, selfish and entitled. This is what drives so many of us away. In a day and age that is harder to get by in than ever before, we simply struggle to hold on to what little we can, and many of us feel that the baby boom generation betrayed us by living fully and leaving a poor economy and a world of debt for their grandchildren.

I would like to let you know that I am 23 years old, intelligent and hard-working. I recognize the wonderful things your generation did for us, and from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you for feeling the necessity to try and bridge the generational gap. Nothing can be fixed unless we reach out to one another, and perhaps I'll go make some volunteer visits out to Loretto some time!